Worthy Vessel
by The New Mandalord
Summary: The fearsome and unknown Darkness has plagued the Galaxy for untold millenniums. The steadfast heroes of the Light, Guardians, have combat it wherever it lays. But how strong is its influence? Can a Guardian fight against it, or be forever lost? (Post DB and HoW, pre TTK).
1. Order

**Hello everyone, The New Mandalord here.**

 **Just thought that I would post a new multichapter story. I am still working on Destined, so don't worry, plus I have an ending already written for this story. It's just getting from point A to point B which is the problem. So this is going to be short, for now, but I do have plans for this story.**

 **Activison and Bungie own Destiny. I own the characters. Except for one later on.**

* * *

 **Old Russia, Earth.**

Kevin Cornett saw the people of the mining city of Mir stank of simple-minded stupidity. The sour stench of ancient fossil fuels, the sweaty desperation that oozed from the flesh of the diamond miners, the muddy pack animal trails the locals called streets – Kevin loathed it all. That he would give up drop of blood defending the futures of these backward, inbreed, impure simpletons stabbed him with revulsion.

 _Kill them or save them, or save them in order to kill them, no, kill them to save them. You know what must be done._

He twitched. It was revolting that the idiots at the Tower would even think about giving protection to these dolts. If it the decision had been his to make he would have let Fallen pirates plunder the city and mine. It would mean more bounties and glory for people like him, and less time spending in wallowed forgotten towns. However, Mir paid the City in the diamonds for food, medicine, technology and more importantly protection. That is what he was here for, and he hated it.

 _You were bred for greatness. Greatness comes from great sacrifice. You know what must be done._

The arrival of a fire team distracted him from the voices in his head, both of which were his.

As miners descended onto the platforms in the rain, Kevin watched them with almost pathological indifference that slowly shifted to annoyance. The only way the half dozen Guardians could have stood out more if they all wore signs saying "AIM HERE" around their necks, he thought, though perhaps the people of Mir had seen their kind enough that did not matter. Few miners looked at them, then at him, but continued on their dismal lives.

Kevin did not care; in fact, he rather enjoyed it. The look of awing fear they had in their eyes was the same feeling of pride and respect he received from his fellow guardians.

He was clad in the armor he rightfully received from raiding the Vault of Glass, and carried the Atheon's Epilogue and Praetorian Foil. These other Guardians seemed to get their gear through lucky energems than the cryptarch chose not to cheat them on, or ripping them off dead enemies. And these were the people Kevin was forced to work with.

 _You know what must be done._

Kevin twitched again. The moment passed. His indifference to the guardians settled slightly. He appeared to them cool and stoic, but inside they were lesser than him.

Their leader was a Warlock, a small-eyed man, stock and thick and he appeared to move through the rain like a cloud across the sun. No rain ever touched him though he was covered in white steam, so a heat shield was to blame. Kevin had never really like warlocks. He found them too secretive and in all honesty, Kevin figured the City would do well with a few less of them.

"Kevin Cornett," he began.

"Do not address me by my name or class," Kevin said. "You may either call me Commander or sir."

The warlock shrugged, "If that's what you want. I am Vaclav. I have brought the men Commander Zavala requested. And they know nothing about this mission, neither do I."

Kevin watched the guardians gather together at one end of the landing platform, checking their weapons, armor and ammo. Three titans and two titans, making Vaclav the only warlock of the team.

"I never heard of Zavala being secretive."

Vaclav sighed like a bellow, "That's because he knows as much as we do. He said, 'Go to Mir and find a Titan call Kevin. He's a cocky bastard, but he knows how to get the job done. He'll lead you from there'."

Kevin wanted to punch the man for his arrogance, but the prospect of leaving this horrid squalor pit held him back. His horizon was starting to broaden again, and the mission he had in mind was perfect for them. Though Kevin had regularly been in fireteams to achieve his goals, it still frustrated him, though he knew he would learn to accept the fact. Ultimately, the men would serve as fodder, which satisfied Kevins' distaste for them. They were a distraction to draw the fire while Kevin did the real deed -

 _You do not need the useless, but they will serve a part_

\- Kevin suppressed his thoughts with a slight shake of his head an a cough. The fact that these guardians were distracting him from his real goals caused filled him with distaste. Swallowing the fire within him, Kevin just repeated that they would serve their part.

"Who is this, then?" Kevin asked, gesturing for the slightly built Awoken behind Vaclav to come forward.

"This is Belnel," Vaclav said as the man stepped closer. "He's our heaviest hitter."

Kevin had his ghost search over the titan. His light level was shockingly low to be in this fireteam. He only carried two pieces of legendary-class gear, gauntlets and a mark of vigilantist. As for weapons Keven was please that he carried the fable Hawkmoon, but his other weapons were as lackluster as he. The whelp even had the nerve to look him in the eye when he spoke to Vaclav. "I don't like this. No one said what the job -"

"You are a guardian," Vaclav cut him off. "You either do this job or you can go back to standing on that abysmal wall. You signed onto this job, so no one needs your approval because no one needs your approval. This isn't the Wall, so speak when you are spoken to or until you get paid."

Belnel was about to respond when Kevin cut him off.

"Make no mistake: You will be paid handsomely for your efforts, all I ask is your loyalty," he addressed both men, speaking with a voice that would motivate commander Zavala. He adjusted his grip on his shot gun Universal Remote for emphasis, relishing for a moment Belnel's widening eyes. "And I assure I have it."

Vaclav nodded, but Belnels' face went blank. "Our loyalty is bought," Vaclav assured him. "You have nothing to fear."

"Good, good," Kevin smiled, but his eyes still held that cold killer intent. He felt both weary and angry, a restlessness to get the mission underway gripping him as fiercely as death.

Vaclav said, "May I ask what the objective is?"

"Vex gate lords," Kevin said. "I've been told that three have been spotted on Venus, near the shores of time." He considered Belnel, whom he suspected would be dead soon enough, before he added. "I want their heads."

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 _Author's Notes_

 _So once again there is a new character, and if you hate him I say: Good. I made Kevin to be that uber, dumb, perfectionist jock that we all hate. He's like Gaston minus anything funny or likable. Won't give anything away yet, but it'll be fun._

 _Until next time._


	2. Temptation

**Hey Guys, The New Mandalord here.**

 **Just giving a new chapter for the weekend. This contains a character from Nik799, Sapphiro Ao. Ao is very much what what we believe a Titan should be. Strong, courageous, valiant, honorable, selfless, ect.**

 **As always, Activision and Bungie own Destiny. Nik799 own Ao. And I own everything else, give or take.**

 **So please, read, enjoy and review.**

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 **Shores of Time, Maat Mons. Venus.**

Maat Mons was the name of the region, the near northern flanks was where the Guardians made a trans-mat zone. The land was strange and alien, nothing like the ruins that proved humanity once owned this world. The air was sulfuric and humid, and the ammonia waters was a choppy golden-orange. The cliffs were covered with exotic planets, and dotted with crumbling Vex architecture. Shores of Time had numerous precarious cliffs and platforms, several low-light caves and chambers, and a few long sightlines for ranged weapons. It was all in all more pleasant a place than he expected, at least for the moment; certainly not the obvious home for gate lords.

Kevin was the first to land and slog through the sulfuric mud onto shore, his eyes darting about, absorbing everything. The wind, swirling and unpredictable, stirred the rain, caressing him with lukewarm fingers. Besides him, Valcav shivered and clapped his hands together, fire blossoming between them.

"This is a Light-forsaken land, isn't it? You can barely see the sun." He noticed that Kevin had not answered. "Are you ok?... Sir."

The warlock's discomfort at the title gave Kevin some pleasure.

"Are all our forces here?" Kevin did not wait for an answer. It was a foolish question.

"All heads accounted for. Just doing an ammo check-"

"Very well. Our first priority is to find the first construct to lure out the Vex. There is no telling what's waiting for us out there in the shadows." There, that would shut the man up and give him something to do. Kevin lead the way, going through the dense jungle and sending out the hunters to scout ahead.

The day turned to night without incident. Kevin stayed awake in the small alcove until the small hours of the morning, perusing what incomplete maps he had been able to find. When at last he fell asleep, he dreamed, and it was both joyous and nightmarish. He was perfect, immortal, no one could beat him as he went to conquer the next horizon. And even as he dreamed, Kevin felt that horror descend upon him as he pushed himself further. The anguish, not in the slightest abated by the fact that this was only a dream and he knew it was only so, ripped through him again. He drew a sword, his sword, and stabbed his devoted followers through the heart.

But this time... this time he realized that his sword was nothing like the cleavers the Hive used that moment. This was beautiful and perfect in every way. Runes glowed along the length. Cool white fires wafted from it, stars forming from where he swung. When he used the blade his devote follows did not die, instead they became more than what they were, some how stronger and more loyal than bolted upright from where he had fallen asleep, a smile curdled on his face. Surely this was an omen.

 _Lead your kind to greatness. Clasps the Blade. You know what must be done._

The morning dawned clear and oppressive, and he was up before first light, eager to begin combing the land for signs of the gate lords. Nothing today, but that not bother him.

But that first day, they found nothing more than a few pockets of Vex constructs. As the day passed, with more and more territory charted, Kevin's spirits started to sink.

Intellectually, he realized the Venus was a large planet, barely explored. These were gate lords, yes, and the clusters of vex they had fought thus far would likely be a good indicator of their presence. But not the only one. They could be anywhere - or nowhere. This whole revelation that he would be on Venus with a group of worthless weaklings could have been a trick by the Vanguard to get him out of the way, so they could give other up-jump guardians a chance -

 _Only madness lies that way._

Gate Lords thought like any machine, only going for the best and most rational possible answer. Kevin knew they were here.

It was well into the second week of searching before Kevin found anything to offer him hope. They had marched off in a different direction, after Belnel returned bearing new of large clusters of vex. The found the reported machine - lying in blasted pieces of metal in pools of water. Before Kevin could even form a thought, he and the fireteam had come under fire.

"Take cover!" Someone cried, and they dove for whatever they could find - tree, rocks, even vex ruins. Almost as soon as it had started, the attack ceased fire.

"Cabal ball! You're not vex! You're all guardians!"

It was a voice that Kevin recognized and had never thought to encounter in this harsh land. Only one person he knew could swear so enthusiastically, and for the moment, he forgot why he was here, what he was searching for, and felt only delight and fond remembrance of a time long past.

"Sapphiro?" Kevin question in shocked pleasure. "Sapphiro Ao, is that you?"

The guardian stepped out from behind from his perch atop a vex tower, peering cautiously. The scowl on his face was replaced by an enormous grin. "Kevin, bud! I never you would be the one to lead a rescue party."

The human jumped from his perch and landed twenty yards from them. Not much has changed since their times as squires. Always taking reckless risks in order to prove himself. In the beginning, Kevin thought that he would go too far and eventually learn his place. Be as they both became Titans, even he had to slightly respect Ao's endurance. Even if he was too naive for his own good.

He strode forward, his armor scored and scarred and his helmet was missing, but it showed the naive hopeless idealism that he remember from training. He spread his arms, marched up to Kevin, and embraced the other Titan. Kevin laughed dryly - it had been a while since he actually laughed - and he hugged his comrade back. As they drew apart, the meaning of Sapphiro's words registered on Kevin.

"Rescue? Sapphiro, I didn't mean even know you were here. We came in search vex constructs-"

"For the gate lords no doubt." Sapphiro clapped him on the back and pulled him along. "Come, we can compare notes inside. Found plenty of freeze dried food if your team is hungry."

There was a celebratory cheer in the air as Kevin's fireteam gorged themselves on the food that Sapphiro was able to construct. Much to his surprise, Kevin found that some of them were actually passable cooks. Vaclav ate what seemed to be three times his own body weight and Belnel ate rather light but gorged himself on water.

Kevin stayed to himself with his own thoughts. The blade from his dreams still haunted him. Perfect in design and power. He could slay any foe of the City with ease. He could cement himself forever within the Hall of Legends as the greatest guardian. It was destiny at work.

 _Destroy. Rebuild. In your image._

Sapphiro was speaking and Kevin jerked his attention back to him. "I was here following a bounty lead, but the closer I came to doing so, the more vex I encountered. I might be young, but I think I can link up a coincidence."

"What was this bounty for?" Kevin asked, suddenly interested.

"Fellbane," the name tore through Kevin like a thunderclap. "One of the legendary relics lost on Venus from the Golden Age."

Kevin smiled coldly. So Sapphiro, to, did not believe in coincidence. The certainty inside his gut grew. "You think the gate lords don't want us to find it," Kevin murmured.

"I wouldn't think they be too happy to see you charging at them with that kind of weapon in your hands, that's true enough."

"It sounds like we can help each other, then," Kevin said. "I can help you find Fellbane, you can help my fireteam fight the vex."

"A sound plan," Sapphiro agreed, "As long as get to slap around some hobgoblins."

For the next day Kevin and Sapphiro swapped notes. There original mission had now become a two part mission - the gate lords and the Fellbane. Eventually they decided that the best course of action would be to pack up Sapphiro's camp and move northward along the Shore of Time. They found themselves fighting every type of Vex there was, from disposable goblins, to the accurate hobgoblins that Sapphiro destroyed with much prejudice, to harpies that hunted them in packs, massive and powerfully built minotuars that would teleport behind them for a ambush, and hydras that were miniature fortresses and dissolved their rounds in the translucent matrix fields that surrounded half of them.

Kevin learned from Sapphiro the the vex had gates here; a portal that can teleport Vex units to various locations. So not only did it feel like they were fighting an endless army of machines, in many ways they were. Yet each day seemed to bring Kevin no closer to his goal. There were plenty of traces of the gate lords influence, but none of the gargantuan machines.

Nor was Sapphiro's quest for the enticing Fellbane more successful. The clues, data files that their ghost found had references of the blade and the projects that it belonged to, but nothing in the matter of location. Soon resurrections became a normal daily task. The only ones who did not need to to be brought back from the dead were Kevin, Sapphiro, and Vaclav, but that was mainly caused by his sunsinger abilities.

Engrams were freely flowing and there was plenty of glimmer to saturate his team's greed, but Kevin knew that they would not stay loyal for long. These trinkets were small in comparison to warm food, warmer bed, and safety of home. Then his voice chimed with a message from the Tower.

A muscle twitched near Kevin's eye. "Commander Zavala - recalled my team. Because they deemed it a fool's errand?"

His ghost was nervous and glanced sideways at Sapphiro for help, but the human just shrugged his shoulders. "Yes, they are waiting for you down by the clearing to set up a trans-mat zone. I'm sure you'll be able to catch up with them quickly."

"Of couse," Kevin said, and forced a smile. Inwardly seething. He dropped a hand on Sapphiro shoulder and steer the Titan off to an area where they could speak quietly.

"Hey, I'm sorry, bud. It's frustrating to have to pick up an-"

"No."

Sapphiro was taken aback. "Say what?"

"I'm not going back. And neither are these guardians. They took up this contract, so they will see it through. Only the weak run in the face of a true challenge."

"Kevin, it was left to a vote. The vanguard has spoken. You can't countermand an order. That's treason."

Kevin snorted. "Perhaps it is the vanguard who is turning traitor on the City."

Sapphiro was surprised what he was hearing. He knew Kevin could have a superiority complex, but never this horrid. "Well you would have to take it with them when you get back. Make them see reason, if that's all you have to say. But you cannot disobey."

Kevin shot the fellow Titan a harsh glance. "You have to admit about one thing. My team are loyal to what they understand a chain of command. They'd never refuse to go home if it's a direct order." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and smiled as the idea took shape. "That's it! We'll simply deny them the way to go home. They won't disobey - if they are _unable_ to obey."

Sapphiro cocked an eyebrow. "What are you implying?"

Kevin's responded with a wolfish grin, and told him his plan.

Sapphiro was shocked. "Isn't that a bit much?

Sapphiro was always seen as the chivalrous knight. He did not understand that in order to gain great victory greater sacrifices must be made. He would understand that this was a merely necessary sacrifice in order to keep the fireteam completely loyal to him. When they finally faced the gate lords. Kevin knew he would defeat them. He would defeat all of them. He would end the darkness and be remembered as the Traveler's champion. The destruction of the trans-mat beckons was nothing more than an inconvenience - comparatively minor when measured against the glory it would bring him... and the survival of the City.

"I know it sounds drastic, but it has to be this way. It has to."

Sapphiro fought with his own thoughts and that of his friend's. Kevin was desperate, that much was certain, but if they sabotaged the trans-mat beckons then his fireteam would no longer listen to him. Maybe this was for the best.

A few hours later, Kevin stood on the Shores of Time and watched as former trans-mat zones burned.

The answer had been simple. The guardians could not call their ships home - could not abandon him - if there were no call to the ship. And so Kevin destroyed any way to call them forth.

He had cut through the jungles, having his ghost reprogram dormant vex first to help them slaughter the other machines and then destroy all of the beckons they had laid.

Beside him, Sapphiro sighed and shook his head. He who muttered under his breath as they watched the sabotage, was still not certain if this was the right path. Kevin just watched, the heat almost scorching his front.

"Damn you Zavala. You were always jealous of me." he murmured.

He would show the Vanguard Titan - the former Vanguard Titan. He would show Zavala, and Cayde-6, and Ikora Reys, and Layla. He had not shirked his duty, no matter how awful or brutal it was. He would return triumphant, having done what was needed to be done - things that the softer-hearted weaklings at the Tower were too afraid to do.

The constant roar of distant explosions and chattering constructs, it drowned out the despairing cries of his team as they emerged and beheld the sight.

"Sir Kevin! Our ships wont respond!"

"What happened? How are we going to get home?"

The idea had been simmering in the back of his mind for a while now. Kevin knew his team would be aghast at discovering that they would be stranded here for a unknown amount of time. They had agreed to follow him, true, but they were no more than mercenaries and no amount of loot could sedate their urge to go home. Sapphiro was right, his word was nothing compared to the final word of the Vanguard.

Then he saw the vex he reprogrammed.

They were technically the enemy. None of them knew that he ordered them to destroy the zones, outside of Ao. To his team they were agents of the darkness. They would not be missed.

Kevin felt the light swell within him. "These machine took our only hope of going home! In the name of the Last City, slaughter them all!"

He led the charge.

* * *

 _Author's Notes:_

 _So I figured I would just put Ao's Grimiore's bio below... BUUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTT, that would give any what would happen at the end. So you are just gonna have to wait til then._

 _Take care now, bye bye then._


	3. Chaos

**Hello everyone, The New Mandalord is back for another weekly update.**

 **As always, Destiny in owned by Activision and Bungie, while the characters ans scenarios belong to their respective owners.**

 **Read, Review, and Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Shores of Time, Maat Monn. Venus**

Kevin could hear Sapphiro's heavy footfalls coming up to the ruins that were serving as Kevin's tent. The glare he gave Kevin could take the shell off a ghost. They stared at each other for a long moment, the Sapphiro jerked his head back toward the outside and left the encampment. Kevin frowned and rose, following Sapphiro to an area away from his team.

The titan did not hold back his words. "You lied to your men and you ignored the word of the Tower!" Sapphiro snapped at him, pointing a finger to Kevin's face. "What is wrong with you? This is not the boy I trained with."

"I am no one's _boy,_ " Kevin spat, shoving Sapphiro away. "I did what was necessary."

Sapphiro wanted to strike him, but his anger seemed to bleed away. "What is happening to you, Kevin?" Sapphiro said, his voice holding a system's worth of pain and confusions. "Is glory all that is important to you?"

"Spare me, Sapphiro," Kevin growled. "The members of the Tower are fools, and you know it. We now have the means to defend the City for the rest of time, and they fear that. You remember the Vault of Glass. Atheon. The Oracles. Crota! With the Fellbane I... we can be the stedfast heroes that can rid our system of the darkness forever."

"I remember all of those,"Sapphiro said quietly. "Each one was powerful, deadly, and dripping in dark energy. But we bested them. Not just you and me, but the combined strength of untold thousands working as one with the Vanguard's blessing. Even if we find the Fellbane, there is no guarantee that it would be as powerful as we think it is. It's over two-hundred years old, Traveler be damned! Is glory and fame the only thing that drives you on?"

 _Worms do not see the peak. They deserved to be squashed._

Fire and cries of alarm interrupted him. In a heartbeat, Sapphiro and Kevin had their weapons out and had turned back to the encampment. The Guardians were still scrambling for weapons. Vaclav was barking orders to get everyone organized. There came the sound of engagement from outside the encampment, and Kevin could see the press of Vex closing in. His hand clenched on his shotgun. This had all the earmarks of a coordinated counterattack, rather than a random encounter.

Harpies swarms were being used upfront in order to harass the Guardians from reaching their weapons, but their main design flaw made them easy targets for hunter throwing knives. By know, these Guardians were used to fighting the machine constructs and knew where to aim in order to permanently compassionate them. But there were a lot of Vex.

Sapphiro scratched his chin, sharp eyes darting about. "This looks bad," he admitted with characteristic titan understatement. "We are completely surrounded."

Kevin stared, agonized. "We could have done it," he hissed. "With the Fellbane... we could have prevented this."

Sapphiro did not face him. "There... well, I do have my doubts. About the sword. And, to speak truly, you as well."

It took a few seconds for Kevin to realize what Sapphiro was saying. "You - are you telling me you've figured out how to find it?!"

At Sapphiro's nod, Kevin seized him by the arm. "Whatever doubts you have, Sapphiro, you have to rid them now. Look around you, the Vex are breathing down our necks. If you know where it is then take me to it. Help me claim the Fellbane! Without it, we'll fall, you know we will!"

Sapphiro gave him an agonized look then closed his eyes.

"I have a bad feeling about this. It's why I haven't pressed it before - something about it, how little information there is - it doesn't feel right. But I promised I would see it through. There is a transfer gate not too far from here. Get your team and -"

"No."

"No?"

"They need to defend the gate. Make sure the Vex do not destroy it from the otherside, and trap us in Light only knows where."

Sapphiro clenched his jaw. Once again, Kevin had spun the conversation in order to benefit his own needs, and what made it was that he was agreeing with Kevin. Sapphiro said a quick prayer to the Traveler and put the fates of the other Guardians fate into its mechanical hands.

"Let's go," Kevin said grimly.

 **Unknown Region. Presumably Venus**

Kevin and Sapphiro appeared on the other side of the gate. They went from hot and balmy, to dark, cold and dank area. The smell of blossoms and flowers flew on the still air, as green moth hung from the temple-like structure that laid before them. Sapphiro was about to order his Ghost to scan the area ahead, but Kevin began to move automatically. The voices in his heads were calling him forward, and Sapphiro's protests were nothing more than a constant roar. He no longer noticed or cared in which direction he went, simply moving his legs as he followed his own lead. Time seemed to have no meaning. He could have been moving for minutes or days.

His mind was consumed with thoughts of the Fellblane. His transcendence. Kevin knew it would be. But could he reach it before his team at the camp fell to the Vex and their Gate Lords? Valcav said he could hold - for a time. How much?

 _Lead your kind to greatness. Clasps the Blade. You know what must be done._

"There," Sapphiro said, almost reverently, pointing. "It's inside there."

Sapphiro called out to Kevin, but his words rang hollow in his damaged helmet. Nothing mattered to Kevin, nothing more than gripping to hilt of the Fellbane. He word use its legendary power to slay he enemies and call forth legions of followers to his call. He would no longer have to listen to the weak-minded say of the Consensus, or the weaker-will of the Vanguard. He would receive the blessing of the Traveler, over a hundred-thousand banners blowing in the wind, the City rebuilt in his honor, and the people worshiping him as a God.

All of these grand desires were suddenly dashed as something hard crashed into him from behind. "Hold still," Sapphiro snapped. "and stay down!"

 _He does not know. He does not understand. He lacks the vision. He lacks the will._

The voices were becoming louder and more pronounce in his head. If Sapphiro was not sitting on his back, Kevin would have shot him from his insolence. But as they were, Sapphiro was right on top of him. His knee pressing into Kevin's back, and his Universal Remote out of his reach.

The rock wall that they were hiding behind then dematerialized, revealing themselves to the biggest Hydra construct either one of them has ever seen.

The voice it possessed was deep, hollow, and mechanical, and its words roared in their ears. "Guardians. Light. Turn. Back. Death. Darkness. Await. Turn. Back."

Sapphiro leaned down. "Kevin," he said, his friendly voice, seemed to echo endlessly. "Perhaps we should turn back."

Kevin managed to shake Sapphiro from his back and stood. "Turn back from what?" Kevin sneered. "From a pathetic last ditch effort to turn me from my path? It is going to take a lot more than ominous words to do that."

He fired the Universal Remote, but the concentrated spray dissolved in the behemoth machines' shield. It responded in kind with power that melted the rocks they tried to cover behind, it liquidated the earth underneath it. Unlike most of its kind, the only opening in this machine's shield was either from above, below, or through a small gap that only revealed one-fourth of its massive form. It was not acting on programmed instinct, rather int destroyed any higher vantage point, and glassed the ground underneath as it moved to follow them. Sapphiro and Kevin were left with attacking it when they had a shot at the shield, but their weapons did little damage against the frame. It never exposed its one weakness, its eye, to the gap its shield left which made it the harder to kill.

Kevin fought with a zealot-like fury, hammering and blasting it with everything he had. Even with the famed Truth, Sapphiro could not not inflict as heavy of damage as Kevin was.

At last, the head of the Hydra laid in the glassed cover ground. Kevin stood their staring, panting, the breath coming from lips.

"Guardians. Flee. Death. Inevitable." It intoned.

Kevin sneered at the fact. "Maybe yours, but not our, darkspawn!"

"Darkness. Light. Concepts." It prattled nonsense to Kevin. "Flee."

"Still trying to protect the sword, are you?" Keven snarled, angry and embarrassed that he was speaking to such a creature.

"No." The Hydra's voice rumbled the word. "Protecting. Guardians."

With that, it the creature finally powered down. There was no brilliant explosion from a self-destruct feature, but rather a few electrical snaps and pops and then nothing. All misgiving disappeared as he again laid eyes on the his hard-won prize.

"Behold, Sapphiro," he said, unaware his voice was shaking, "our salvation."

There it hung in mid air, neither floating nor sinking. Upon its alter it seemed to be leering down at them.

A large, narrow, jagged blade made of unknown material, held by a grip wrapped in jade green smooth leather. With a single, sharp edge this weapon seemed the perfect fit for slicing and dicing while also offering the wielder a way to effectively block attacks. The blade had a broad, curved cross-guard, offering plenty of protection to the owner's hands and thus the cross-guard had an elaborate tooth on each side. The fairly small pommel was decorated with gilded linings, which was to be expected from such an elegant weapon. Ancient unknown symbols were engraved along the blade's length, and Kevin silently cursed that he did not bring Valcav along.

Kevin was drawn to it. Being pulled by it.

"Hold on, Kevin," Sapphiro's blunt words, almost an order, were like freezing water doused on Kevin. He blinked, startled out of trancelike rapture, and turned to look at his fellow Titans.

"What? Why?"

Sapphiro was staring, eyes narrow in suspicion, at the hovering sword and the dais below it. "Something's not right here." He pointed a finger at the blade. "It's too easy. Look. Even if the Vex wanted it, there is no reason what they would leave one construct here."

"Too easy?" Kevin gave him a disbelieving glance. "It's taken us so long to find it. And now we have it in front of us."

"I'm just say there might be a catch," snorted Sapphiro. "Wait... there is a plaque here. Let me see if I can read this. Try to understand what it says."

Only Sapphiro saw how odd this turn of events was. They were in an area unknown to anyone, looking for a relic that they had just found to be real, and had just destroyed the largest Vex construct that either one of them had seen which seemed more determined to drive them off rather than kill them. Then there was the blade itself. By all accounts it seemed to have been transported from one place - the Ishtar Academy nodoubt - and brought to this remote location. No being, Light or Darkness, would go through that much trouble.

The more Sapphiro looked at it, the more he thought that there was something wrong about it. Something very powerful, almost unearthly about it.

He Ghost scanned the odd words, then came back with the conclusion. "It is Latin. An ancient language of Old Earth. It's ... a warning."

"A warning? Warning of what?" Perhaps removing it from the altar might ruin the blade somehow.

"Whomever holds the blade will hold power eternal. Just as they conquer, Oryx will take." Sapphiro looked at Kevin, shaking his head. "This is bad. This blade... It does not belong with our kind. We have to go back."

An image of his team suddenly filled Kevin's mind. He saw them, and behind them millions more that will follow him in a great and glorious war against the Darkness.

 _Great deeds demands greater sacrifice. You know what must be done!_

"Perhaps your kind, but not me," Kevin put both hands up the sword's hilt. As if from somewhere far away, he heard Sapphiro still speaking.

"Listen to me, Kevin. We'll find another way to protect the City. Let's leave now, go back and find that way."

Sapphiro was wrong. He simply didn't understand. Kevin had to do this. If he walked away now, he would be sullied forever as a failure. This was the only way.

The voices in his head began to roar out at once. Never giving in and driving his actions on further.

 _Kill them or save them, or save them in order to kill them, no, kill them to save them._

 _You were bred for greatness. Greatness comes from great sacrifice._

 _You do not need the useless, but they will serve a part._

 _Lead your kind to greatness. Clasps the Blade._

 _Only madness lies that way._

 _Destroy. Rebuild. In your image._

 _Worms do not see the peak. They deserved to be squashed._

 _Lead your kind to greatness._

 _Clasps the Blade._

 _You know what must be done._

 _You know what must be done._

 _You know what must be done._

 _You know it must be done._

Kevin pulled the blade free.

"No!" Sapphiro shouted. He had tried to stop his blade from pulling the relic free, but his body was tired. He was tired and slow now, and it seemed that the sword or some other being seemed to know that. So when he went for Kevin, all he was met with was an invisible shock-wave that knocked him back several feet. Now he lay sprawled on the still warm stone floor. His head spun and he could not get his eyes to stay open. A voice echoed in his head. It was not his or Kevin's or anyone he had met.

 _This is his price. He will be my heir. My Taken._

Sapphiro wanted to raise. To stop Kevin. To stop this madness, but he could not get his body to move. With his last once of energy, Kevin could see him leering over him. Then it felt as if the Light itself was being drained from his very essence.

With Fellbane in had, Kevin glared down at the limp form of Sapphiro Ao. All hints of being comrades seemed to matter little in the grand scheme. He was weak now, and Kevin had no use for the weak. So he left the corpse to its fate.

With a cry of joy, he lifted the weapon, gazing at it in wonder and fierce pride. He would make things right - he, Kevin Cormatt, and the glorious Fellbane that was now as much a part of him as his heart or his breath, and he listened intently to the secrets his thoughts revealed.

* * *

 _Author's Notes:_

 _HE HAS THE POWER!... And we are screwed. As if Kevin couldn't have a fatter head, now he has a sword to match. Yipee._

 _Sapphiro is currently taking a little nap... I think... He's not moving much. Great. Someone get a shovel!_


	4. Corruption

**Happy New Year everyone! The New Mandalord is back.**

 **Sorry about the brief hiatus, had a lot of personal life stercus that I had to soldier through as well as the holidays. So there was not a lot of time to write.**

 **Any ways, it is now time to give credit where credit is due. All original characters and events belong to me, Sapphiro belongs to Nik799, and the rest belong to Bungie... and Activision.**

 **Don't forget to read, enjoy, and most importantly, REVIEW! Leave all flames at the door.**

* * *

 **Shores of Time, Man Maat. Venus.**

Of the six Guardians had left Earth on an expedition to Venus had been reduced down to five. Belnel, the poor kids, barely seen his hundredth year yet, was dead. A hobgoblin got a lucky shot, getting both Guardian and Ghost. The members of the fireteam used his mud stained cloak to cover the body from the amonia showers, and laid his remains respectfully on his chest. The ammo he carried was divided among the five of them, but none of them dared to make a claim over his weapons. Not even the legendary Hawkmoon was fought-over, but instead laid over Belnels heart with his hands draped over it. It was the only act of kindness that they could show their comrade.

They waited now. The Vex had probably calculated that their own losses were too drastic for too little gain, and that a war of attrition was the suitable course of action. Unlike the five of them, the Vex did not have to eat or sleep or drink or require medical care, so a prolong siege was was more deadly than warping in guns blazing.

"Where are they?" a Titan asked, irritation and fatigue tinging her voice. "They are supposed to be back by now."

"You don't think they are dead?"

The thought had crossed their minds, that something on the other-side of the portal had killed the two titans, but none of them wanted to give into despair. In order to distract themselves from those thoughts by keeping to a structured system. They shifted positions of guard duty and ranging as well as protecting the inactive portal that had taken their leaders away. All reports had said that the Vex were still and quiet, almost in a dormant state, but any chance of slipping away were impossible. Surrounde on all sides, and with food dwindling, there was nothing they could do now but wait for death to claim them. With any luck their Ghosts could get them back to Earth, but even that felt like wishful thinking.

A boom of thunder and brilliant crash of lightning lit up the dark-green sky, making the dead of night turn into midday. At first the Guardians had thought that the Vex had decided that they waited long enough and sent a Hydra in to eradicate them. To their surprise the portal had activated once more and to a greater surprise, Kevin had walked out.

All of them, even the cynical Valcav, gave a exhausted cry of joy. Fallis, her armor spattered with the odd glowing gore of the machine creatures, cried out to him. "Lord Kevin! We've done what we could and - Where is Sapphiro? We can't hold out any longer!"

"Sapphiro is dead," Kevin said. There was no pain in saying those words. He saw the Titan's body, his own ghost trying to revive him to no avail. Sapphiro had just bee a part in his ascension, nothing more. Kevin saw their uncertainty, so he held the blade aloft and said, "His death was not in vain. Take heart, the enemy will know fear!"

As they watched, disbelief washing over their faces, Kevin charged into the fray.

He had fought well with his blessed weapons, now lying discarded and forgotten in the vault where Fellbane had once been imprisoned, but it was nothing to the damage he dealt now. Fellbane felt more like an extension of himself rather than a weapon. He quickly found a rhythm and began to slice the metal Vex down as if they dried wheat in front of a thresher. How balanced and perfect a weapon it was in his hands. One arcing blow severed the head from the shoulders of a goblin. He swept Fellbane around, scattering the component of a hobgoblin. Another rhythmic stroke downed a third foe . They all fell around him, the mechanical bodies beginning to pile up, as he cut a path through them. At one point, looking for his next enemy, he caught sight of Valcav staring at him. There was awe on the familiar face, but also shock and - horror?

Yes. It had to be at the carnage he was wreaking, surely. The Fellbane was all but singing in his grasp. With every death he felt his own power grow inside, and he would not let their opinions falter him.

The normally calm tropical weather picked up and the rain began to fall, thick and fast. The sudden change in weather did not hamper Kevin in the slightest as he continued his campaign. Again an again the blade found its mark, and small hills of broken metal constructs began to pile. So high were the piles that his Fireteam, when eventually found their courage, began to use them as cover. Slaughtering through ruins and climbing up ancients stairs until they reached the top of the Vex's alter. At last, with the final minion been dealt with. It was time for their masters.

Three giant gates, each reaching to over twenty meters high, stood inactive before them. Kevin's rage spiked.

"Gate Lords!" Kevin cried out, even his own voice sounded different in his ears now, as it carried over the howling wind. "Come out and show yourselves! You brought me here, now come and face me!"

The gates fluxed with energy, and the Gate Lords that Kevin had been searching for, bigger than Kevin had anticipated, stared down at the Titan. Each one straightened to their own height, but kept their eyes focused sorely on Kevin.

"Little Light. Possess Blade." Said the first.

"Possess Blade. Brings Darkness." Said the second.

"Brings Darkness. Destroy!" Said the third.

Their voices were like rolling claps of thunder, and just like before, they spoke in short phrases. Valcav would have loved to study them, but the words mattered little to Kevin. They were heard, but there were other words, whispering silkily in his brain. Kevin listened, and the grinned fiercely.

"You prolong your own demise, rust buckets. I heed only the voice of the Fellbane now."

The Gate Lords took up their cannons and prepared to fire. Purple, electrified mist surround around the Guardians of Earth, when it dissipated a fresh host of Vex machines laid in its wake.

Kevin spat and charged.

* * *

Sapphiro felt as if his inside were going to fall out of him. His armor creaked and crunched everytime he expanded his chest to take in a deep, reassuring breath, which made him fall into fits of painful coughing.

His head throbbed as he tried to think back to what happened. Kevin had taken the Fellbane, a golden age blade that just so happened to be possessed by the Darkness, and in his attempt to destroy it ended with him being knocked out by the kinetic energy of the rocket's detonation.

 _"Yeah... That sounds right..."_

Then he awoke, all alone with the gate deactivated. His Ghost had to fix it to the best of its knowledge, while he looked at his own gear. His primary and secondary weapons were so wrapped and twisted to the point of being useless. The only reliable weapon he had left was Truth, and it only seemed good enough for one last shot.

A dead Guardian lay on the ground as him as he left the portal, his cloak draped over him. Sapphiro sighed as he took the fabled Hawkmoon off the corpse. He hated himself for this, and he knew the law of more than one exotic-grade weapon being equipped, buy quite honestly he did not figure he was going to last the rest of the day.

Finding Kevin was not entirely too hard, all Sapphiro had to do was follow the destroyed Vex machines. At some points he had to trudge through broken metal, and almost slipped on the glowing gray oil-like substance that gave the creations life. The sounds of engagement could be heard over the din of strong wind and stronger rain. Sapphiro picked up his pace, despite the wine and scrapping noises that his armor was making.

Fire still clung onto the metal hulls of malformed Vex creatures, fighting a loosing battle against heavy down pour. Sapphiro was finding himself running out of breath sooner than he expected, and his broken armor was now becoming waterlogged and exceedingly heavy. He pushed on regardless how much he wanted to find a spider-hole and crawl into it. He was a Titan, and he would show the enemy what the City had to offer.

Cries of battle quickly died as the storm froze. Sapphiro soon found himself having to push through a seeming endless curtain of diamond-shaped droplets. He could hear voices coming from just beyond.

"You are a Guardian," the deep voice rang out inside his skull. Sapphiro was not sure if it was real or not, but it continued regardless. "Steadfast protector of the Light. Legionary of the your God, Traveler. You have gought and died for your God on countless of words, and God has brought you back from the dead. But you know the truth. You are already dead. You have been Taken. Set aside your guns. Cast away your armor. The fight is not yet begun. True glory awaits you. What vow compels you? What drives you down the long centuries? You fear death. Even as you slay countless in your God's name, even as you gather tribute from your lessers, ypu know one day your God will champion another. So you kill more, just to prove that you are still alive. You betray logic. You compromise the totality of your violence. Why protect the weaker if they will turn and abandon you?

Sapphiro stumbled out of his wall of water to find Kevin, bowing on one knee, at a Vex alter. The blade was still in his hand, though it was different from when they found it. Instead of brilliantly made, it was jagged and glowed with a black and white energy that snaked up Kevin's arm. Surrounding him laid the remains of Vex machines, their bodies sprawled out in a interwoven spiral that would have been impressive if seen from above, but at the end of each lay the cold, waxed face corpse of a Guardian. Helmet-less, their glassy eyes looked up at nothing - though perhaps that was a good thing. Not even Sapphiro, who had fought with so many against Atheon and Crota, and the depravity of the Prison of Elders, could comprehend the horrors that remained in front of him.

A dark mist vision hung before Kevin

"You need to become more than you already are," The vision continued to speak. "There in you hands lies your transcendence. There is the blade for you. It is shaped like no more fear. Take up the blade. Transcend these more mortal bonds. Break free of the Light the binds you. Take your new shape."

Three bale-green eyes moved off Kevin and glared at Sapphiro.

"Interloper!" It said as it dissipated into the nothing that had created it. "I sense the death of Crota upon him! Destroy him!"

Kevin stood slowly and turned to Sapphiro. There was a long moment, a sickening soft moment, stretched like a sinew.

"It was not supposed to be you, Sapphiro Ao. Iron Wolf. Vault Breaker. Crota's End." It was Kevin, but it was no longer his voice. "You were not supposed to be here, another transcending waited for you."

Kevin paused, turned, his sword arm extending to the dead Guardians lying on the ground.

"Pass! I like living!"

Sapphiro spat and using Hawkmoon, shot five times at Kevin. Something began to move under the bodies, something black and writhing like snakes in oil. The bullets deflected off a unseen shield, as the darkness consumed his former comrades. From slight wimpers, Sapphiro's heart sank further. They were alive this entire time, that would explain why their ghost did not try to resurrect them. He hated the fact that he wasted five bullets on Kevin, and not to spare his own comrades of a fate worst then he could possible imagine.

Kevin's body began to blur. Where there was once a perfect edge, soon became a mere movement of color and light. Sapphiro moved from a lung that would have gutted him right to the hilt, then ducked a blow that was meant to decapitate him. All he could do was dodge Kevin's blurred stricks, each one would have killed him if it was not from experience of fighting Vandals and Dregs. One slice came in from on high, no time move out of the way. Sapphiro's reflexes forced his arms up, and there was a metallic clang as sword met Hawkmoon. A field of light surrounded the weapon, which made them both pause.

"Your death was ordained, Sapphiro," Kevin mocked as he pushed against the Titan. "A field of stars waited for you. But here you are."

The jagged sword broke free and whipped around like a poised viper. Sapphiro stepped past and Kevin soon followed his attack. He twist to avoid the backlash and saw that his opponent's guard is open. He fires the remaining rounds in the chamber. All his being. All his years of training carried in how accurate he was. Kevin blinked aside, his shape and form skipping between moments like if he had not moved. A black siloutte remained where he was, fading in the air like a mocking bruise. Sapphiro fell back, reloading all the while as the sword changed in direction. A savage kill strike was meant to cleave him in two, but they both found that Sapphiro was just out of reach. The tip scored along his chest piece, leaving black smoke in its wake. Sapphiro, who thought he was safe from being cleaved in half, soon found the ground had removed itself and that he was flying backwards once again.

Rain droplets parted as Sapphiro flew, skidded on the mossy stones, and then finally stopped. A tunnel in the suspended rain marked his decent. This was soon followed by Kevin's, who merely moved the torrent away with a mere wave of his hand.

"I am your only escape," Kevin spoke, speaking with genuine concern and only a hint of mocking. "Death is your only escape."

Sapphiro felts his bones grinding in his chest and suddenly it became harder to breath. Inside his head he was focused on holding onto his focus fury that was his Light. Kevin was less than five strides away. The sword in his hands the unnatural glow in his eyes unmoving.

"You have heard the truth," Kevin said. A flash went through Sapphiro as he straightened, painfully. He had told no one of what he had found in the Deep Stone Crypts, and he had no reason to believe in them until now. "There are no longer any secrets that you can hide from me. I see your heart, and I see your fate. My God has now placed your end in my hands. You will not leave this place alive. You will not live to see your Traveler fail! You will not live to see this false Light be blotted out! The Speaker laid to you, Ao. The Butcher, Thief and Witch all laid to you."

Sapphiro felt cold running through his limbs, he felt his arm that held Hawkmoon rising but it felt detached from him. Like a dead limb. He drew back on memories long past as he stood with the Speaker of the Traveler.

 _"You must choose, Ao. Not for yourself, but also for the future of Your Order, the City and the Traveler."_

Kevin was coming again, moving so fast that it seemed unreal. Shadow and oily smoke once again dragged in his wake, as the brutally brilliant sword slicing through the perpetual hanging water. The voices come then, thrown from the distant memory of the past.

 _"Duty. It keeps us. It binds us. It gives us purpose."_

 _"A gun is freedom, Titan. Fear it, and you fear yourself."_

 _"If you cannot find the other paths, Ao. Then you have already lost."_

 _"What is the other path"_ He remembered asking the Speaker.

He fired, but it was too late. The blade had caught him right in the side.

 _"Death. For all."_

Blood and darkness. That was all Ao could see. It was a pit that was consuming him, just like how it must have been for the others. The only noice he could hear was the thrumbing sound of his heartbeat as it sliced moments of his life away with every slowing beat.

" _Strength and sacrifice. That is why we exist."_

 _"And there is nothing more?"_ Ikora had asked him.

 _"Nothing more."_

 _"Answer me this, Guardian. If the stones of your giant Wall, or lasers, or whatever you use now, were shaken to their very core, what would you do then?"_ Cayde's impish voice was fading to his ears.

The would roared back into life. It was deafening bright, this meant he could see again. His own Light was blazing around him, encapsulating him in a sense of awe. Kevin was standing over him, the black spots on his armor disapating into nothing while his blade leered down on him like a hungry animal. His scowl cracked into a smile, black smoke escaping through ivory teeth. His lips were burning as he spoke.

"Accept the Truth of Oryx."

Kevin hefted the heavy sword above his head with both hands. The realization struck Sapphiro like its namesake.

Truth.

During the fight he had all but forgotten about the weapon. One round left, a cracked barrel and at close range, it was more likely to kill the both of them. But if he was going to die, Sapphiro Ao would be damned if he did not take this hell-spawn with him!

Kevin had not noticed the rocket launcher until he brought his blade up to the fullest height. He saw Ao give a slight smirk and then he was consumed by pain. At such a close range, the missile did not have time to prime as it left the tube. So as it punched into Kevin's chest-piece, it took him with it, sending both missile and whatever Kevin had turned into flying back to the alter.

With a satisfying BOOM, the final word of Truth was spoken. Sapphiro laid there for the longest of moments, not knowing what to expect. For Kevin to come back over the ridge, grinning all the while? Or for that monster to descend from Traveler knew where and corrupt him as well?

The dark thoughts raced through his hazy mind as he leveled Hawkmoon to his temple. No matter what, he would get word of this back to the Tower, even if he had to be resurrected there.

The gun felt heavy in his hands, and his cracked armor was crushing his body. Was it always this heavy? Or...

A pelt feel on his forehead and rolled down his face. Then another, followed quickly by a third and forth. Soon he was consumed by the rain. Heavy at first, but then it found its equilibrium and reverted back to the way Venus's nature intended.

Sapphiro merely did not care, he was howling out as the water filled his mouth.

"Ghost!" He had called to his companion. The words barely audible. He heard him flash in, but had a hard time pinning him down. He was buzzing about, surveying his wounds and preforming life saving operations. Organs, vessels and tissue started to regrow where the blade had struck him. The bones would need to heal on their own.

"Ghost! Get me too the Speaker. He needs to know what has happened."

* * *

 _Authors Notes:_

 _Well I do hope everyone had a nice and semi-enjoyable holiday season. 2015 and Year Two of Destiny was surprisingly good. Not great, but good. TTK dramatically expanded of the narrative as well as the gameplay, but certain aspects are still dragging. I managed to get my Warlock over the three-hundred mark without doing the Raids, but now I'm stuck there. I also managed to pass my Praxis exams in order to become a teacher, so there is a new heading for me._

 _As for the story in general sense. I was interested in how Oryx took species of other races in order to bolster his army, so I thought what would happen if a Guardian became Taken?_

 _Kevin may return in other stories, but for now, this is the only one he is getting. Ao as well, but that is more up to the decision of Nik799._

 _Until next time._


	5. Redemption

**Hey guys, The New Mandalord here.**

 **Well this is the last chapter, so I wont bore you.**

 **Destiny belongs to Bungie and Activision, Sapphiro Ao belongs to Nik799, and all other places, events, tech and character belong to me.**

 **So read, review, and enjoy. (But mainly review.)**

* * *

 **Somewhere on Mars, near the Scarab Pass.**

Across the red dunes the winds howled and swirled, sweeping iron rich-sand into an abrasive curtain and forming entire hills where valleys had once been. The creature who had stepped from that howling curtain had long lost track of days and week. To him time was an irrelevant concept. He was tall in black, enameled armor with a massive great sword slung across its back. The weight of his armament was at odds with the blood-red desert and oppressive heat. His face was the embodiment of perfection, as if it was made from pure platinum, but was set in a perpetual vestige of pure determination. The rest of the creature stood regal, but was clearly not of this system - or any for that matter. None of the Cabal's sensors would detect the vestige surveying them because of the multitudes of arc storms in the vicinity.

There were Cabal within the pass - a lot of Cabal. Blind Legion, Bone Crushers, Dust Giants, Ice Reapers, Sand Eaters, Siege Dancers, and Sky Burners were all gathered within the pass to discuss what they should be doing either with the constant fighting with the Vex construct or the ever present meddling of the Guardians from Earth. Each regiment had their respected primi to discuss terms, and each Primus had at least two-hundred legionaries, one-hundred phalanx, fifty centurions, a dozen colossi, and more psions then could be counted. They had even brought Goliath tanks with them, each one flanked by a retinue of phalanx on interceptors.

The Cabal with their punitive brain functions would view him as a hobgoblin collecting information for their collective mind, or a fallen bandit scouting for a oncoming plunder, or maybe an out cropping of rocks. None of would matter soon enough. The gathering of the major war bands would surely get the Tower's attention. The paranoid minds of the Tower would send in Guardians to eliminate of the problem, promising the victories untold spoils of war and then cheat them in return. What would be worse is that they would destroy this army - his army.

 _This must not happen!_

An innate urge thundered him. There were times when the creature would get visions of a life long since past, before he was what his master molded him to be. He was once forged in the light, a Guardian of Earth, one out of many and he saw himself as the greatest. To that man, he was the greatest and all else were lesser and should be put in their place. To that man it was not some form of false pride or arrogance but rather a natural law of order.

His hand went to the sword at his back. Two times larger than he, the sword should have impossible to hold with one hand let alone over its head, but it was swung with ease. Green runes ran across blade and blazed bright when the sword started to fall. The sound it made was horrible in its beauty, the screaming voice struck fear and doubt in the hearts of the nearest minions, sending pandemonium within Cabal ranks.

By the time the Cabal leaders brought back some semblance of order, the mysterious creature was eager for battle. Primi forced their worthless underlings form ranks and prepare for a sneak attack. Seven hundred Phalanx formed a formidable set of shield walls, while psion support prepared for any arcane attack. Legionaries, centurions and colossi stood backs in rank in order to rain down ordinance on their mysterious attackers, and their tanks took up the sides to prevent flanking. Their Primus were no doubt in the back. Commanding their subjects from a position of order and clarity.

The creature just chuckled in murderous glee. These beasts actually thought the forces of Earth were here to stop them, to kill them. It was almost sad to think of them as already dead, but so was the law of nature.

He raised his great sword high and roared as he charged into the tightly packed ranks of the phalanx. He felt a familiar transformative surge of blighted energy twist his flesh. Spines burst from his pallid skin. The hardened spikes were capable of turning their shield wall aside. His sword struck like a living being with its own will as he used its weight and sharpened edge to cleave through armor and bone. Otherworldly might coursed through his body and guided each blow to find exposed flesh between shield and armor. Where the blade's keen edge killed, the slain were consumed in an unholy apertures in reality. In mere moments nothing remained of the entire shield wall.

There was no battle. Battle would imply that both sides had a fighting chance under conventional means. This was no battle, it was whole sale slaughter. He lifted his hand and runes danced around it before he let the power loose in an eruption of fire. He drove his will into the psions and took full control of their unsteady minds as they battled their own kind, savoring the unbridled strength they possessed. Meanwhile, he clove through the ruined cabal lines, focusing so intently on his attacks he barely had time to raise his blade to block a powerful blow from an armored centurion that forced its way through the smaller legionaries to strike at him. The beast pressed him back, seeming to predict the clumsy motion, but then disappeared in a sheet of white-hot flame as several possessed psions blasted into it.

Aided by those creatures, he cut his through the press of cabal warriors, carving a bloody path towards their Primi. Several large Colossi stood to stop and outflank him. Their massive build, ultra-heavy armor, powerful rotary slug throwers and guided missiles made them formidable foes, deadly, unrelenting and efficient. They were capable of suppressing or eliminating groups of enemies easily with their weaponry, and although they dominate at long range, it was common knowledge not to get close either. They tried to use their numbers and fire power against, each five feet apart going from one canyon wall to the other and every heavy slug thrower turning. Anticipating the deployment of his enemies, he struck at empty air and felt satisfaction when his blade bit heavy flesh as the colossus teleported to just that spot. His blade's magic consumed the large beast in a geyser of flame that ignited several of his peers. Their wall destroyed, the remaining colossi were quickly dispatched.

Free once again of impediments, he continued on towards the cabal primi, who had been giving up ground and sending soldiers in their stead. The primi of the Blind Legion, Bone Crushers, and Ice Reapers were outfitted with large, powerful cannons that rained down sol, arc and void damage into his general area. The only thing they suceeded in was clearing out more of their own. The Dust Gaint's primus carried a powerful rail-cannon and one direct blast would be the end for him. He brought his blade up to deflect but all that happened was him fly backwards into a formally functioning Goliath tank.

He could feel his body transform again. His chest expanded, covered now in harden plates. Bones snapped and reform just to start the process again. He was a walking tank now, and he would not be caught unaware again!Only the regiment's Primus remained. Seven Primus would have been impossible for any guardian fireteam, but each one would fall in turn.

 _Remove the heads, the body dies!_

Seven primi stood against him. Each carrying the might and pride of their empire. To an extent he could understand that responsibility. Hopefully they would continue that mentality under his control.

On that day, none were spared within the Scarab Pass.

The fabric of reality tore and long dark hands came out to claim their prize, the soon to be were pulled through. Some resisted, but the dark entity proved to be too strong even for the mightiest of Primus. He could not help but feel proud with his current victory. He had claimed his own army that would be loyal to him eternally. With his army, he would fulfill his master's goal. He will go to Earth an claim it as his own.

He was the Harbinger of Oryx, heir to the Taken, and he would fulfill his master's will.

* * *

 **Gwynina Memorial Apothicarium, the Last City.**

Sapphiro Ao came around coughing up amniotic fluid, spraying the insides of the revivification sarcophagus. He roared, thundering his fists against the glass, his muscles and nerves suddenly aflame.

"Let me out!" He said, half-choking.

Locking clamps around the casket disengaged, admitting him back to the world of the living. Sapphiro did so breathing hard, sat in a half-capsule of briny, viscous liquid liquid and blankly staring down at the warlock.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Ao."

Lathered in gelatinous filth, Sapphiro scowled, "Hello, Andrew."

The man wore the robes of the Warlock Order, with the Iron Wolf in blazing green fire on a band located on his upper arm. The cloak he wore had a high collar that remained up and an armored shell made from Ahamkara bone, with fabric in blazing gold, silver, and darker hues. He wore no helmet, revealing a thin, unshaven face that had a head of short, blonde hair on the top.

His round-rimed glasses shaded the look in his eyes. Good, the last thing he could deal with right now was someone else pitying him. He had seen too many people coming around - apothecaries, the Vanguard, even the Speaker - had all come to view him. Studying him like a germ in a lens.

It was dark in the apothicarium, shadows suggesting the various machines and devices the City medics employed in service of preserving life. The air reeked of counterseptic and a fine mist fogged the floor. It was clean, cold; a desolate place. How many had come through these halls bloody and broken? Too far to be healed by standard means or by their Ghosts? Always too many.

Sapphiro tried to rise, but Andrew lifted a gauntlet hand to stop him.

"Don't fool yourself if you can stop me."

The hand gesture became placatory.

"You don't remember the other three times you tried leaving, do you?" He asked.

"Refresh my memory."

Andrew sighed and mused his hair. "Every time you tried to leave prematurely, you almost broke every bone in your body."

Sapphiro did remember something along those lines, but he had thought that it was merely a side effect. He refused his hand and left the sarcophagus without his help. His side ached. Once he was out of the tank and standing on the tiled floor, he looked down and saw why. An angry scar puckered Sapphiro's flesh were the Fellblade had cleaved him.

"It's remarkable that you are still alive, let alone walking-"

"But my light is gone."

"Not all of it. Just a good portion," Sapphiro was clenching his fist so tightly that his knuckles cracked. He hit it hard, and put a fissure in the glass. Andrew's eyebrows raised and he had to cough to change the subject. "I just had to see for myself..."

"Oryx," Sapphiro growled.

"Huh?"

"Oryx was his name. He took over Kevin and killed his team."

"Never thought the Arrogant-Ass had it in him to turn traitor. Figured his ego was enough to keep him straight." Regardless of past their history, Kevin was once his friend, so no one else could bad mouth him. "You have six hours to prepare your testimony."

"My testimony? Am I to be on trial?"

The veteran warlock betrayed no emotion, though he refused to believe he did not take some sick intellectual pleasure in all this.

"The events on Venus were disastrous. Questions need to be answered."

Sapphiro's eyes narrowed, but he held in his temper. He was angry at the bureaucracy and situation, not at the warlock.

"And am I to be held accountable for what happened? I know what I saw and what happened."

His gambling friend betrayed no emotion, using the same unreadable face to hide any scholarly joy he might be having.

"The events on Venus were disastrous. Questions must be asked."

"Who will be there?"

Andrew gave a long sigh, clearly he was not enjoying being the messenger. "It's a trial by your peers. Zavala, Ikora and Cayde will be there for your testimony, and the Speaker will decide."

Sapphiro moved to the door, still dripping. "Then let's not keep them waiting. If they want proof then all they need to do is look a my side."

Andrew put his robed bulk in the Titan's path. Though roughly the same height, Sapphiro out weighed the Warlock by fifty pounds, but all he lacked in muscles Andrew more made up for in mystic arts. Red firefly sparks of fire glowed around his fingers, and Sapphiro took a step back.

"You really think going there half-naked will change anything? At the very least you have the chance to get your thoughts together." Andrew's face betrayed no emotion, but Sapphiro knew that he was contemplating burning him in order to keep him from doing something stupid. "You have six hours.

Andrew left the apothicarium without another word. He would be at the trail no doubt, not to mention half of the Guardian on Earth. Even Guardians on other worlds would come to watch this farce. A trail by peers was nothing more than a gigantic spectacle to entertain the jealous masses ...

 _You know the truth_.

Darkness started to build around the corners of his eyes. The throbbing heat in his side became cold, snaking and spreading its foul corruption through his body.

"NO!" He spoke through his teeth. No one but the proto-servitors were in the apothicarium with him, so he could speak what he like. "I will not be taken this easily! I am Sapphiro Ao! I am a Titan of the City! And this isn't over!"

* * *

 _Author's Notes:_

 _Pheeeeewwwww! Finally finished._

 _This one was fun to do, mainly because it was a story that I wanted to do and that Nik799 was just so awesome as a contribute. I hope to use Ao in future stories, and you can be damn sure Kevin is gonna be a recurring villain. Think more Megatron, less Starscream in terms of evilness. I swear I am not a nerd._

 _And before any doctors who I know start messaging me, no Sapphiro is not pregnant. I know amniotic fluid are for babies, so think of the sarcophagus as a womb that is healing the patient inside. Think like the becta tanks in Star Wars... just gooier._

 _Until next time._


End file.
